Ryan Giggs to start against Barcelona despite affair

24 May 2011 09:36

ShareSir Alex Ferguson will demonstrate his faith in Ryan Giggs by naming the under-fire Welshman in his team for Saturday's Champions League final against Barcelona at Wembley.

Giggs, named in Parliament as the footballer who had obtained a High Court injunction to prevent details of an affair with former Big Brother contestant Imogen Thomas being made public, spoke to his manager on Monday, when his state of mind was assessed.

Ferguson wanted to know if Giggs was prepared to face Barcelona - and was told: 'Yes'. The midfield linchpin wants to play a small part in Gary Neville's testimonial on Tuesday night at Old Trafford. Ferguson may allow Giggs a cameo appearance after not playing in Sunday's 4-2 win against Blackpool.

It is understood the United manager, who has been watching Giggs' demeanour and form since the scandal broke, is satisfied his longest-serving player remains in the right frame of mind to play.

Life on the big screen: Ferguson receives his Manager of the Year award from David Gill on video-link

Ferguson, who won the Manager of the Year award and two others at last night's League Managers' Association dinner, said: 'The media is a difficult beast to handle these days with the profile of the players.'

As United count down to their meeting with Barcelona at Wembley, Giggs was named in the House of Commons by Liberal Democrat MP John Hemmings.

He used parliamentary privilege to name the star saying 75,000 people had already outed him on Twitter.

United front: Giggs celebrating his side's title triumph with his children Zach and Libby at Old Trafford

Naming Giggs he added that it would be 'impracticable' to prison everyone on the website who had previously tweeted his identity.

Speaker John Bercow immediately leapt out of his seat and rebuked Mr Hemmings in an effort to try and protect the Manchester United player's identity.

Following the revelation thousands of people once again took to Twitter to spread word Giggs had finally been outed.

Controversy: Manchester United star Giggs with his wife Stacey last week

Giggs had mounted a desperate campaign to keep his name secret, not only taking out an injunction but also threatening to sue Twitter users for leaking his name.

The player's face was published by the Glasgow-based Sunday Herald and India's leading newspaper the Times Of India printed a picture of the footballer and used his name three times in a report about the injunction.

Despite the scandal, Ferguson is likely to stick with Giggs for Saturday's crunch clash with Barcelona.

The one selection issue facing Ferguson is whether to start Javier Hernandez or an extra midfielder, with the Mexico striker favourite to get the nod at present.

Eyes on the prize: Evra (left) says he was persuaded to stay at Old Trafford by Sir Alex

Someone who is almost certain to start is defender Patrice Evra, who has revealed Ferguson persuaded him to stay at Old Trafford last summer.

'I had thought about leaving last summer for family reasons and even concluded that I wanted to,' Evra said. 'But the manager visited me at my house to persuade me to stay. It worked.'

Meanwhile, David Beckham has insisted Ferguson's current side deserve their place among the Old Trafford greats. 'They're up there with the best United sides of all time because the trophies they've won prove it,' he said. 'You can't ask for more.'

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